For their 25th anniversary, Deceased set out on a US tour with Rumpelstiltskin Grinder in support. Even though this isn't a big tour, I was surprised I didn't read about it anywhere, but perhaps I just missed something. If it wasn't for seeing that fellow user here, NecroRob, was going to see them, I wouldn't have looked to find out if they were playing near me. So, thank you!

I wasn't expecting to be able to go to this show after I found out it was on a Wednesday, since I would be getting up for work at 4am the next morning, but I noticed it was going to be at the small venue a few blocks from my house! Now I had to go. Also, this venue has no barricade up front, which I like. It feels more personal when you're that close to the band. So, yesterday I headed over to Chain Reaction a bit before the doors opened. My friend's band was one of the openers so I talked with them for a while in the parking lot. The first band, Panzer, started playing, so I headed inside. I really think I should have stayed outside a bit longer though. Unfortunately there is no re-entry at Chain Reaction, so I just watched these high school kids trying to play thrash. They were terrible to say the least. Their vocalist was atrocious and their music was awful. It seemed like most of the people in there were their friends, because they all looked to be about 14 years old. It's cool to see a lot of kids here into metal though!

After Panzer was finished another local band, Crepitus, took the stage. I've seen these guys before and they're probably my favorite local band here. Plus, at the Summer Slaughter tour I saw their vocalist and I said hi to him and he gave me their self-released CD for free. After they finished my friend's band, Imminent Death, was up. I had actually never seen them before, so I didn't know what to expect, other than some death metal. I was surprised, they are decent for their age. I saw potential in a couple of the members, so I hope they continue on with their metal career.

Once my friend's band was done playing I headed over to the merch area. King Fowley (Deceased) was behind the counter so I talked to him. He's a really nice guy, and pretty funny too. I asked him how the tour was going and he said pretty good, but that San Diego was horrible. I said I was a bit disappointed there weren't many people (about 65 at that time, including the bands), and he replied "As long as the people here want to be here, that's all that matters. Quality over quantity." I thought that was interesting, since I assume most people would feel disappointed if that many people showed up to see you after being around for 25 years, but he is definitely right. I ended up buying a shirt and their third album, Fearless Undead Machines, which comes with a bonus disc with live material and demos. I really wanted to buy Supernatural Addiction, but he said it's been out of print for a while. He plans to have it reprinted, along with other albums in 2011. The shirt I bought is black and white with a red logo and the tour dates on the back. The other shirt they had was a similar design, but with a dark blue logo. The guy next to me bought the red logo shirt as well, and I ended up buying the last one, not counting the one on display. So, I was happy I went to buy stuff when I did. Before I left I asked him if he could write down their set for me, so I wouldn't have to worry about forgetting songs and he did. And he noticed I had a camera with me, so he asked if I could take pictures of them. He gave me his email so I could send them to him later. For anybody planning on going to one of the remaining dates, Deceased shirts were $15 and CD's were $10 each.

The next band was Tormentor, another local band from the LA area. I was not very impressed by them. They were a typical retro-thrash band, which we seem to have plenty of in Southern California. During their set I was wishing they were the Tormentor from Hungary. After they finished Rumpelstiltskin Grinder came on. I had never listened to them before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. They were another retro-thrash band, but they blew away Tormentor. They had a little something extra that made me interested in them. I can't really pinpoint it, because I'm not familiar enough with them. I will definitely check out their material though. Also, the singer/bassist made me think of Will Ferrell if he were to form a metal band.

Finally Deceased was setting up! I got up to the front of the stage and waited for them to start. After a little wait the lights dimmed and they were ready. They opened with "Night of the Deceased" and then went into "The Triangle". King had a great stage presence, and the crowd was going insane for them. I definitely get what he meant about quality over quantity. I've been to shows at that venue with three times as many people when everybody looked bored stiff. Despite the crowd being thin, there was endless stage diving going on. Everybody was having a good time, even those being landed on over and over. I spent about half of the set on the side of the stage taking pictures and a few videos. I've actually never taken photos for a band, although it's been something I've always wanted to do, so it was really fun, even if I only had my video camera (which takes not-so-great pictures). Next time I'll bring in my dSLR with my wide angle lens so I can get some professional looking photos.

Anyway, Deceased was GREAT live. The set was about 50 minutes long, and contained two songs from the first album. There were plenty of great songs in it, including my favorite, "The Premonition". They closed it with a cover of "Black Metal". I usually don't like when bands do cover songs live, but this is one of the exceptions. King went into the crowd at the end of the song was swarmed by fans screaming "BLACK MEETAAALLLL!" Pretty awesome, if you ask me. I'm glad I was able to go, and it was a very memorable show for me. Here is the set:

If it wasn't for seeing that fellow user here, NecroRob, was going to see them, I wouldn't have looked to find out if they were playing near me. So, thank you!

The guy next to me bought the red logo shirt as well, and I ended up buying the last one, not counting the one on display....For anybody planning on going to one of the remaining dates, Deceased shirts were $15 and CD's were $10 each.

No problem

I'm kinda confused on the merch situation, were they out of shirts just for that show or for the rest of the tour?

King is a good friend of mine.....a very class A guy. He knows the bullshit that comes with being a touring underground band....but he keeps going on!! Def glad you caught them bro! They don't head over to the West Coast very often! They play here on the East Coast ALL the time...so you guys are very lucky to see the amazing Deceased in action!!